Why New Fly Weights?
Many fly fishers obsess over finding just the right color fly for this or that situation. While color can certainly influence your catch rate, often an even more important factor is completely overlooked. That’s a fly’s weight.
The weight (or sink rate) of a fly determines how deep it will get in a pool, how well it stays near bottom, how it performs in current, how enticingly it flutters down on the pause. In other words, fly weight is a critical component, but one traditional fly tying (with its trout background) gave little attention to.
Fly weight is a critical component that determines how your fly will perform. But this important factor is often completely overlooked.
I have discussed fly weight at my smallmouth schools and in books and magazine articles. We also mention the weight or sink rate of the flies we sell on our website. Now, expanding on this, we are offering a couple of my favorite patterns in more weights. Having these patterns in another weight will significantly expand your angling options, to effectively fish different situations.
New! Faster-Sinking Hares !
Now, there is an easy way to get your fly deeper in stronger current situations– our new heavier Holschlag Hares.
The new 1/40th-ounce Hares have yellow eyes (click image to enlarge)
These new flies are the same size and color as the standard deadly white and black Holschlag Hares, but with heavier 1/40th-ounce eyes (rather than 1/50th-ounce). They are excellent for situations where you need a heavier fly that will get deeper and stay down better.
The best way to fish a river is to have both weight Hares along and switch from one to the other depending on the depths and current speeds you encounter.
To avoid confusing the two weights, these new 1/40th-ounce Hares have yellow eyes (versus the orange or black eyes on the 1/50th-ounce versions).
The Holschlag Hare is excellent as a mid-depth streamer fly, but it also works well fished near the bottom. Naturally, its rabbit strip tail produces great undulation, fished either fast or slow. And the deer hair head really pushes water, similar to a Muddler Minnow or Flash Dancer.
If you would like to add the Holschlag Hare to your fly box, the black Hare and white Hare are now available in both weights. The yellow and olive Hares come in the standard weight. Find these flies and more in the Smallmouth Fly Angler online fly shop.New! Slower-Sinking HHFs !
The new 1/60th-ounce HHF has black eyes (click image to enlarge)
Sometimes the standard 1/50th-ounce Holschlag Hackle Fly (HHF) is too heavy, so it doesn’t flutter to the bottom slowly and it snags too easily. For these shallower and slack-water situations, a lighter fly is better for doing the Crawfish Hop. Our new, lighter 1/60th-ounce Holschlag Hackle Fly is just the ticket.
This 1/60th-ounce HHF is a perfect weight during the spawn, when a slower-sinking fly is better, and in the slower flows of late summer. Plus they are deadly on small streams and creeks most of the season.
To avoid confusing the two weights, the new 1/60th-ounce HHF has black eyes (versus the orange eyes on the standard 1/50th-ounce version).
If you would like to add the HHF (Holschlag Hackle Fly) to your fly box, they are available in both weights from the Smallmouth Fly Angler online fly shop.
I went to Tim’s school and then on a couple of his fly fishing trips. He is the greatest! He is a very good teacher…very patient and he is a helluva nice guy. Highly recommend